Data availability in Chisholm and Dogrib Fires

June 17, 2002

By: Kris McCleary

Bandaloop Landscape-Ecosystem Services

Dogrib Fire Characteristics

• Fall fire (October 2001)

• Record drought codes

• Heavy surface fuel loading

• Extreme winds (130 kph)

• Steep topography

• Extreme headfire intensities

Juridictions

Dogrib Fire

• Alberta Sustainable Resource Development

• Sunpine Forest Products

Dogrib Fire Area

Banff National

Park

Forest land use (FLU) zone Sunpine Forest Products

FMA

Dogrib Fire Area

Natural Subregions

Upper Foothills

Subalpine

Alpine

Dogrib Fire Sunpine Forest Products

• Orthophotos (Dogrib Fire)

• Roads - existing and proposed

• Salvage blocks and historical cuts

• AVI

Dogrib Fire Sunpine Forest Products

• Landuse

• Contours

• Ecosites

• Dogrib fire boundary

Dogrib Fire Alberta Sustainable Resource

Development

• Streams

• Oil and gas development

• FLU zone boundary

• Township grid

• Seismic lines

Dogrib Fire Alberta Sustainable Resource

Development

• Roads

• Catguard location

Chisholm Fire Characteristics

• Weather Conditions

- Conifer foliar moisture near its annual minimum

- Greenup of grass and herbaceous vegetation delayed by drought

• Forest Types

- Boreal Spruce predominates (39%)

- Cured standing grass significant (35%) due to reburn in 1998 Mitsue and Chisholm burns

Chisholm Fire Characteristics

• Forest Types

- Leafless Aspen significant (18%), generally has conifer understory

- Boreal mixedwood - leafless (37%), generally has 25-50% conifer

Chisholm Fire Characteristics

Juridictions

Chisholm Fire

• Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (2

forest districts)

• Vanderwell

• Weyerhaeuser

• Slave Lake Pulp (Alberta Plywood)

Chisholm Fire Area

Forest Districts

Marten Hills Forest District

Athabasca Forest District

Chisholm Fire Area

FMA/FMU

Hamlet of Chisholm

Vanderwell

Slave Lake Pulp

Weyerhaeuser

Hamlet of Chisholm

Chisholm Fire Area

Natural Subregions

Lower Foothills

Central Mixedwood

Chisholm Fire Alberta Sustainable Resource

Development

• Roads

• Catguard location

Chisholm Fire Slave Lake Pulp

• Historical cutblocks

• Miscellaneous Timber Unit cutblocks

• Proposed salvage blocks

Chisholm Fire Weyerhaeuser

• Proposed salvage blocks

Chisholm Fire Resource Data Branch

• Administrative regions

• Pipelines, railway, powerlines, roads

• Streams and lakes

• Wildlife management unit

Chisholm Fire Data gaps

• Data from Vanderwell FMA (proposed

and existing blocks, roads)

• Quota holder data

• Alberta SRD suppression data

Data acquistion time

• Dogrib- 2 to 4 weeks

• Chisholm- 2 to 12 weeks